Who is Prayut Chan-o-cha? Outgoing Thai PM, former army chief and coup leader

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced his retirement from politics on Tuesday. The announcement of the former army chief and caretaker PM of Thailand came only two days before the country’s parliament was set to vote for a new PM following the May election.

The 69-year-old has ruled Thailand since 2014, after as army chief he seized the country’s highest position in a coup. But the tables turned on him in May this year when the progressive Move Forward Party gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, landing themthe most seats in the election.

Prayut Chan-o-cha: From army chief to coup leader to Prime Minister

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Born to an army Colonel, Prayut studied at Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and graduated from the Command and General Staff College Class63 in 1985. This was the year when Prayut began his military career as a major. He was once a royal guard under Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda in 1987. Three years later, he served in the 21st Infantry regiment, which is granted Royal Guard status as the Queen’s Guards.

It was in 2010 that he succeeded Anupong Paochinda as commander-in-chief. His promotion to this post in such a short time raised many eyebrows, and it was seen as the influence of the Queen’s Guards.

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When he was appointed to the position of army chief, his image in the country was that of a royalist and an opponent of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. During the Red Shirt demonstrations of April 2009 and April-May 2010, he was one of the leading proponents of military crackdowns on the movement.

During the political crisis that began in November 2013, and involved protests against the caretaker government of Yingluck, Prayut claimed that the army was neutral and would not launch a coup. However, in May 2014, Prayut launched a military coup against the government and assumed control of the country as dictator and leader of the National Council for Peace and Order, a military junta.

Since then, Prayut has been leading an authoritarian regime in Thailand. Later, he also issued an interim constitution granting him absolute powers and giving himself amnesty for staging the coup. In August 2014, an unelected military-dominated national legislature appointed him as Prime Minister.

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After seizing power, Prayut's government oversaw a significant crackdown on dissent. He formulated “twelve values” based on traditional Thai values and suggested that these be included in school lessons. Measures were implemented to limit public discussions about democracy and criticism of the government, including increases in Internet and media censorship.

Prayut was elected the PM again following the disputed 2019 Thai general election, after having ruled as an unelected strongman since 2014.

(With inputs from agencies)

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